


As iron is eaten away by rust

by rainbow_kitten_5



Category: Rust (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Found Family, Gen, Good Wilbur Soot, Guitars, Hurt Wilbur Soot, Insomnia, Older Sibling Wilbur Soot, Protective TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Protective Wilbur Soot, SBI Rust, Wilbur Soot and TommyInnit are Siblings, radiation poisoning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-19
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-17 06:33:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28844628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainbow_kitten_5/pseuds/rainbow_kitten_5
Summary: Wilbur plays his guitar to help Tommy go to sleep, and when Wilbur's hand's shake too much from radiation exposure, Tommy returns the favor.(A fanfic based off of the SBI rust server)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 306





	As iron is eaten away by rust

Tommy huddles closer into his blankets trying to find warmth in his body heat. The sound of gunshots echoing around the small wooden shelter and Tommy shivers, begging his mind to ignore the sound. It doesn’t work. There is no way he’s going to be able to sleep. Not with the throbbing in his side and the hunger pains growing inside of him. Tommy sits up in bed unable to stand the sheer restlessness anymore.

‘’Tommy? What’s wrong?’’ Wilbur questions peeking his head into the makeshift room. Tommy hesitates, staring back at the man a few feet away from him. Wilbur has been with him since the world fell apart. Since global warming increased the severity and frequency of storms. Since the storms tore through everyone’s homes and left them completely blank slates. Tommy vaguely remembers staring at the fuzzy T.V screen as the news person talks about crime rates skyrocketing due to the human population being too high. He remembers the day his mom found they no longer had enough rations to split between them. She started acting weird after that. She was different. Then the men with guns came to the door and Tommy had no choice but to run. Escape. Survive. Tommy didn’t even know where he was running, he just hoped it wasn’t towards any wreckages left from the nuclear wars. 

Wilbur found him not long after that freezing to death in a ditch in the forest with nothing but a stick to defend himself. Tommy always wondered why Wilbur took pity on him, specifically since their first interaction was Tommy trying to bite Wilbur’s ear off while hitting him with a pointed twig. Though after Wilbur proved he wasn’t a threat, and that Tommy wasn’t much of one either, they formed an uneasy alliance. At first, Tommy barely talked, but it wasn’t long before they fell into an easy banter as they searched for resources and built a shelter. Wilbur never left him or sold him out. They collected valuable scraps to sell for guns and invaded other’s camps with Wilbur pretending Tommy was his ‘’young little brother’’ to grab some pity donations. But Tommy has never dared let Wilbur see him vulnerable like he was on the first night they met. Tommy knows that Wilbur would never leave him behind but it doesn’t stop the little doubts to allow the fear to crawl across his skin. His mind can’t help but worry that if he lets Wilbur know he’s weak, that if he can’t uphold his keep, then Wilbur will discover he’s a burden, he’ll abandon him. 

Wilbur is still watching him now, his dark brown eyes overflowing with concern. Tommy raises his head to meet Wilbur’s eyes. They are so sincere, it’s enough to make his chest clench. Tommy doesn’t know when this change happened, when in this ‘every man for himself’ world he started to **trust** Wilbur.

‘’It’s just…’’ Tommy stutters, pulling the thin sheets closer. ‘’I just can’t sleep.’’. Tommy shrugs his shoulders as if it’s not a big deal as if this isn’t a nightly occurrence, as if sometimes he’s too exhausted to remember his name. Wilbur’s eyes continue to study Tommy, it’s a challenge. Wilbur can push, but only if he’s willing to learn Tommy may not be a good idea to keep around in the process. 

‘’The guns are loud,’’ Wilbur remarks his voice trailing off as he stares into the distance. He says it as if it’s just the gunshots as if it isn’t the screams of others being stabbed, shot or eaten alive. As if the gunshots don’t trigger vivid memories of the last war, as if anxiety doesn’t run through all of their veins.

Tommy nods in response to Wilbur’s observation, huddling in on himself. Wilbur gives Tommy a sad smile before swiftly ducking out of the room. For a moment Tommy thinks that is it and he’s alone with bloodthirsty cries and self-directed anger, but then Wilbur comes back. He enters the room, slowly closing the creaking door behind him. Wilbur’s also clutching something in his thin fingers, it’s a guitar. 

‘’What are you going to do with that?’’ Tommy questions fake judgment shielding his confusion. Wilbur walks over and plops himself delicately down on the right side beside Tommy.

‘’I’m going to play it.’’ Wilbur declares with almost real excitement spiking inside him. Tommy tilts his head to the side for a second rolling Wilbur’s words over in his head.

‘’That sounds stupid,’’ Tommy announces, but he falls back onto the bed and starts making himself comfortable. Wilbur reaches out ruffles Tommy’s messy hair and for some reason, the boy doesn’t have the energy to swat him away. Then Wilbur starts playing, he strokes the strings of the guitar, plucking each note exactly right. The calm melody fills Tommy’s ears and eventually, he starts to drown out the sounds of bullets flying through the air. At some point, Tommy thinks that he hears Wilbur start singing. Then Tommy realizes that he’s fallen asleep. Ever since that day, Tommy hasn’t had a problem sleeping as long as Wilbur could play his guitar.

-

‘’Come on, Wilbur hold on we're almost home!’’ Tommy urges, a sharpness edging his voice as if Wilbur can control his condition. 

‘’Tommy…’’ Wilbur mumbles, more of his weight falling so he’s almost entirely being carried by Tommy. ‘’I think I’m going to throw up again.’’. 

‘’No, Wilbur you’re fine. You’re...it’s going to be okay.’’ Tommy promises, his voice breaking with emotions as sweat beads down his forehead. Wilbur shifts slightly and starts moving his feet forward again, his arm still resting on Tommy's shoulders and Tommy’s hand wrapped around his waist. Wilbur’s eyes flutter and Tommy can see that he’s struggling to keep standing through his nausea. ‘’Look Wilbur we made it home! You’re going to be fine!’’ Tommy strains to make his voice sound positive when in reality his brain is cursing his ignorance. 

Tommy practically drags Wilbur inside as he recalls the past few months. He wishes he said something when he noticed the ‘’rust’’ which he now knows are radiation burns started growing all over Wilbur. He wishes he said something when Wilbur’s hands started shaking so much it was hard to hold something. Tommy wishes he put together the pieces when the notes on Wilbur’s guitar could never come out quite right. Tommy knows he should have realized when Wilbur started teaching him how to play the guitar.

Tommy lays Wilbur down in their bed watching as the man curls up in obvious agony. Wilbur has been going into the radiation areas. He’s been giving Tommy all these surprisingly good supplies and Tommy's never questioned it. Wilbur has been running into dangerous areas, poisoning himself to keep Tommy safe. Tommy stares down at Wilbur’s broken form, guilt bleeding from his eyes in streams of tears. He knows there’s no way Wilbur is going to be able to sleep like this. That’s when Tommy gets the idea. 

‘’I’ll be right back,’’ Tommy promises, about to walk away before a shaking hand reaches for him.

‘’Tommy…’’ Is all Wilbur is able to croak out and Tommy just forces a smile discovering this must be how Wilbur felt like all those nights ago. He knows he’d do anything for Wilbur, for his brother. He’d tear down the world. 

Tommy slips out of Wilbur’s grasp and runs out the door. He scans the house until his eyes lock on exactly what he needs. He pushes open the bedroom door rushing back into the room. Tommy ignores the smell of vomit in the room and pulls himself up onto the bed beside Wilbur. Tommy knows he’ll never be able to play as well as Wilbur could, but he knows a few songs. So Tommy reaches out and squeezes Wilbur’s hand before moving to play the old guitar. He plucks the string in an abrupt rhythm, and then Tommy starts to sing.

  
  



End file.
